Srisailam - Forest of Andhra Pradesh

Those who love to enjoy nature and like to visit holy places can plan their trip to Srisailam situated at a good distance of 232 km from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. This holy place is well-known and turning as the first choice for tourists around the world. Those who like to get the real view of the deep forest must visit this place because the 80 km area Srisailam is a completely dark forest where people can enjoy viewing the real king (the Tiger) of animals. Srisailam is a small holy town located at Nallamala Hills of Kurnool region of Andhra Pradesh. The river Krishna is also another nature of beauty as it comes across the mountains and forests.

The attraction of Srisailam:

Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple: The temple of Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy who is also known as the form of Lord Shiva is the best temple to visit. This temple is covered by forest and big mountains all around. Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple is the one Jyotirlinga temple of 12 temples of Lord Shiva.

Srisailam Dam: There are many other places where people can enjoy nature like Srisailam Dam planned on Krishna River. This dam is 245 km away from Hyderabad and plays an important role in offering power services to most of the area of the state. This dam is 512 meters long and built on the Krishna River. The beautiful scenery like ghats, craggy ridges, cliffs, dense forests, and plateaus are some more interesting places. The twelve crest gates are capable to hold the water level of 885 ft.

Sanctuary: the largest tiger reserve is situated at Srisailam. Visitors can enjoy watching tiger, sloth bear, leopard, deer, and many other wild animals. Down water at the dam gives shelter to many crocodiles.

Epic Values of Srisailam:

The history of this place is also mentioned in various religious books. According to sources Sri Adi Sankara visited this temple and composed Sivananda Lahiri. Many other sources like Puranas and Mahabharata is also having detail mentioned about the Srisailam. The details available about the temple are Lord Rama himself installed the Sahasra linga and the Pandavas lodged the Panchapan dava Lingas in the temple court. Sri Parvata is the hill blessed by many Hindu gods. These details are provided on available sources, online guides, and portals.

Gateways:

Ritual, creative writing and many other sources utter that the blessed hill of Srisailam has four different entryways in the four prime directions known as Tripuranthakam (Located in Prakasam District in the East where God Tripuranthakeswara Swamy and Goddess Tripurasundari Devi are Presiding Deities), Siddhavatam (Located on the bank of the river Penna in Kadapa District in the south where Jyothisideswara Swamy and Goddess Kamakshi Devi are the presiding Deities), Alampur (Located on the bank of the river Tungabhadra in Mahaboobnagar District in the west where a group of nine temples of Chalukya the period is situated), Umamaheswaram (Located in Rangpur, Achampeta Mandal, Mahaboob Nagar District in the North where God Umamaheswara Swamy and Goddess Umamaheswari Devi is the presiding deities).

Transport:

Reaching Srisailam is possible from Hyderabad and Guntur (a well-known place of Andhra Pradesh).

By Road: To reach the exact location users have to use road transport. Many local buses and tourist buses run by AP tourism. APTC (Andhra Pradesh Transport Corporation) is having buses connected to various cities and towns such as Hyderabad, Tenali, Guntur, Vinukonda, Kurnool, Mahanadi, and many other places. The nearest major towns to Srisailam are Kurnool and Narsaraopet. Journey through the dense forest is only possible between 6 am to 9 pm. As the forest is fully covered with wild animals, there is lesser transport facility in late night. Visitors should plan their trips according to timings as it becomes dangerous in the night to travel. 

By Train: The closest railway station to Srisailam is Markapur which is 85 km distance from this place. The next station is Vinukonda and Kurnool.

By Air: Rajiv Gandhi International Airport situated at Hyderabad is the nearest spot for airways. Users can hire buses and different ways to reach Srisailam from Hyderabad.

Accommodation:

Visitors can book the a/c or non a/c room in advance through different hotel websites. However, there are many lodges and hotels offering immediate booking of room and pleasant forest trip. Users can book the hotel and enjoy the riding dense forest incomplete two days. Some of the known hotels are Pathaleswara Sadanam, Sivasadanam, T.T.D, Aditya Cottage, Ramanaidu Cottage, and many others.